Last Wednesday, Apple released iOS 8, the latest version of its mobile operating system. This past Friday, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released to record-breaking sales figures. Now that adoption is ramping up and more people are getting their hands on an iOS 8-loaded next-gen iPhone, the consumer electronics giant is just about ready to unveil Apple Pay. 

The functionality is already in place. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus contain NFC technology, and it is simply now a matter of Apple releasing upgrades to its operating system that allow users to take full advantage of it. This process is taking place simultaneously with an effort to get more merchants on board and organized with the tools they need to facilitate these payments. 

In an interview featured on PYMNTS.com, SecureNet CEO Brent Warrington spoke with MPD CEO Karen Webster about Apple's upcoming role in the payments space and how the company might change the market like it has so many times before. The two began by discussing the retail market's need to implement NFC technology into their stores, and what that might mean for consumers.

"It brings the life back to NFC, without a doubt. But more than that, we're looking at hardware in relation to mPOS that has integrated NFC into it, along with EMV," Warrington said. "We can still solve for this via SAS. This is not going to be a lockdown hardware play on NFC, which was part of the pushback before. People didn't want to replace a past-generation philosophy of hardware."

He went on to say that now that Apple has finally embraced NFC technology and iPhone users — a significant portion of the general public— will soon have the ability to pay with their phones, merchants may finally be ready to invest in the necessary tools so they can accept and process NFC payments. 

Both executives agreed that Apple's involvement may prove to be the game changer in NFC technology and the real driver towards making these types of payments the norm. Webster was quick to point out that a number of features associated with NFC and mobile payments that many were not in favor of now seem innovative, simply because they are associated with the Apple brand. Whether or not that's true is irrelevant, as long as it drives consumer behavior. As such, merchants should ensure they have the right technology to process these types of mobile payments.